The Leapfrog Group’s hospital grades for the Fall 2023 are out and New Jersey fared … pretty well. How well? It depends on how you look at the semiannual scoring.
The survey shows that 76% of New Jersey hospitals graded (51 of 67) received an “A” or “B” grade, compared with 78% in Spring 2023. And, for the second straight report, no New Jersey hospital recorded a “D” or an “F.” Only one hospital (Salem Medical Center) did not report.
Then, there’s this. While five hospitals went up a grade, 17 went down a grade.
And 24 of the state’s 67 hospitals received an “A” grade — good for the 13th-highest percentage in the country, New Jersey had the highest percentage of “A” grades in the country in the spring, when 51% of our hospitals recorded an “A” grade.
Here’s a breakdown of grades:
- A: 24 hospitals (36%) — 11 fewer than spring
- B: 27 hospitals (40%) — 9 more than spring
- C: 16 hospitals (24%) — 1 more than spring
- D-F: 0 hospitals
Here are the five hospitals that went up a grade:
- Holy Name Medical Center (Teaneck): To a B
- Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital (Cherry Hill): To an A
- Saint Clare’s Hospital (Denville): To an A
- Shore Medical Center (Somers Point): To a B
- Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center (Wayne): To a B
For background, the Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit representing hundreds of the nation’s most influential employers and purchasers of health care. The grade aims to reflect preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections that together kill more than 500 people a day in the U.S.
The latest grades are the first to reflect post-pandemic hospital performance and show that New Jersey’s average for three hospital-acquired infections has improved. These infections include a type of bloodstream infection called catheter associated bloodstream infection, or CLABSI; a urinary tract infection caused by a tube used to drain urine from the bladder, or CAUTI; and a staph infection resistant to many antibiotics, or MRSA. CLABSI showed significant improvement.
Linda Schwimmer, CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, was pleased with the numbers.
“We’re thankful to see reductions in hospital-acquired infections, which can cause serious harm and even kill patients,” she said. “We know that advancing patient safety requires unrelenting focus, and so we are pleased that New Jersey’s hospitals have once again shown their commitment to transparency and quality through our state’s high voluntary participation in Leapfrog.”
Adelisa Perez-Hudgins, director of quality for the Quality Institute, noted the drop in the ranking of “A”-rated hospitals.
“The drop in A’s reminds us that quality improvement is a continuous journey that requires attention and persistence,” she said. “Top-rated hospitals are focused on evaluation, education and supporting people working at all levels of their organization.”
Here is the complete list of the Fall 2023 Safety Grades:
- Atlanticare (Atlantic City): B (down a grade)
- Atlanticare (Pomona): A
- Cape Regional Medical Center (Cape May): B
- Capital Health Medical Center (Hopewell/Pennington): B (down a grade)
- Capital Health Regional Medical Center (Trenton): B
- CarePoint Health (Bayonne Medical Center): C
- CarePoint Health (Christ Hospital Jersey City): C (down a grade)
- CarePoint Health (Hoboken University Medical Center): C
- CareWell Health Medical Center (East Orange): C
- CentraState Medical Center (Freehold): C
- Chilton Medical Center (Pompton Plains): B (down a grade)
- Clara Maass Medical Center (Belleville): C (down a grade)
- Community Medical Center (Toms River): A
- Cooper University Hospital (Camden): B (down a grade)
- Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (Livingston): C
- Englewood Hospital and Medical Center (Englewood): A
- Hackensack Meridian Bayshore Medical Center (Holmdel): B (down a grade)
- Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center (Hackensack): A
- Hackensack Meridian JFK University Medical Center (Edison): C
- Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Neptune): A
- Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center (Montclair): B (down a grade)
- Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center (Brick): A
- Hackensack Meridian Old Bridge Medical Center (Old Bridge): B (down a grade)
- Hackensack Meridian Palisades Medical Center (North Bergen): B (down a grade)
- Hackensack Meridian Pascack Valley Medical Center (Westwood): B
- Hackensack Meridian Raritan Bay Medical Center (Perth Amboy): B (down a grade)
- Hackensack Meridian Riverview Medical Center (Red Bank): B (down a grade)
- Hackensack Meridian Southern Ocean Medical Center (Manahawkin): B
- Hackettstown Regional Medical Center (Hackettstown): B
- Holy Name Medical Center (Teaneck): B (up a grade)
- Hudson Regional Hospital (Secaucus): C
- Hunterdon Medical Center (Flemington): A
- Inspira Medical Center Elmer (Elmer): A
- Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill (Mullica Hill): A
- Inspira Medical Center Vineland (Vineland): A
- Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital (Cherry Hill): A (up a grade)
- Jefferson Stratford Hospital (Stratford): A
- Jefferson Washington Township Hospital (Turnersville): A
- Jersey City Medical Center (Jersey City): B
- Monmouth Medical Center (Long Branch): B (down a grade)
- Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus (Lakewood): A
- Morristown Medical Center (Morristown): A
- Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (Newark): C (down a grade)
- Newton Medical Center (Newton): B (down a grade)
- Overlook Medical Center (Summit): A
- Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center (Plainsboro): A
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick): B
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (Hamilton): C (down a grade)
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (Rahway): A
- Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (Somerville): B
- Saint Clare’s Hospital (Denville): A (up a grade)
- Saint Clare’s Hospital (Dover): B
- Saint Michael’s Medical Center (Newark): C (down two grades)
- Saint Peter’s University Hospital (New Brunswick): B
- Shore Medical Center (Somers Point): B (up a grade)
- St. Joseph’s University Medical Center (Paterson): C
- St. Joseph’s Wayne Medical Center (Wayne): B (up a grade)
- St. Luke’s Warren Campus (Phillipsburg): A
- St. Mary’s General Hospital (Passaic): A
- The Valley Hospital (Ridgewood): A
- Trinitas Regional Medical Center (Elizabeth): C
- University Hospital (Newark): C
- Virtua Marlton Hospital (Marlton): A
- Virtua Mount Holly Hospital (Mount Holly): B
- Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (Camden): C
- Virtua Voorhees Hospital (Voorhees): A
- Virtua Willingboro Hospital (Willingboro): B
